As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC), and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU's naming conventions. The list below concerns those minor planets in the specified number-range that have received names, and explains the meanings of those names.
Official naming citations of newly named small Solar System bodies are published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars several times a year.[1] Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB).[2] Until his death in 2016, German astronomer Lutz D. Schmadel compiled these citations into the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (DMP) and regularly updated the collection.[3][4] Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets,[5] Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids, most of which had been named prior to World War II. Meanings marked with * are from legacy sources may not be accurate. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "SBDB".
Judith J. (born 1937) and Sydney P. (born 1933) Levine, orthopedic surgeon and maritime economic consultant respectively, supported and nurtured the creative and scientific aspirations of their children, one of whom discovered this asteroid.
Kwoh-Ting Li (born 1911) was trained as a physicist but became the mastermind of Taiwan's industrial revolution and economic miracle between 1960 and 1990.
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a joint German-US air-borne observatory. With its 2.5-meter telescope on board a Boeing 747SP aircraft, it allows infrared and sub-millimeter observations from above earth's troposphere, leaving most of the atmospheric water vapor below.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "SBDB".
